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Occupied City review: How does a city survive external control?

This is an epic work from 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen that explores how a city and its people react to civil control under Nazi occupation and, 80 years on, lockdown against a deadly disease, says Simon Ings

31 January 2024

Still from Occupied City — Tobogganing in the streets of Amsterdam as an act of citizenship
A24 Films

Occupied City
Steve McQueen
UK, 9 February; US, already released

ARTIST and director Steve McQueen’s documentary Occupied City unfolds at a leisurely pace. Viewers will welcome an intermission after 2 hours. If you need to make a fast getaway, that is your chance – but I’ll bet that you return to your seat.

McQueen, a Londoner, now lives in Amsterdam with his wife Bianca Stigter, a film-maker and historian. The director of 12 Years a Slave and Shame has created…

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